©REUTERS/Piroschka Vandewouw
Pre-reading questions:
I will read each question. Then, please answer them.
講師がそれぞれの質問を読むので答えましょう。
- Have you ever played table tennis before?
- Do you follow the Olympics?
Vocabulary:
I will read the words, meanings, and sample sentences. Then, repeat after me.
単語、意味、例文を読みます。講師に続いて音読しましょう。
- prevent /pri-VENT/
- defeat /dih-FEET/
- career /kuh-REER/
- singles /SING-gulz/
- disappointed /dis-uh-POIN-tid/
[verb] – to stop something from happening or to make sure it does not occur.
She took precautions to prevent any accidents.
[noun] – the fact of losing against someone in a fight or competition, or when someone or something is made to fail
The team faced a tough defeat in the final match.
[noun] – the work or profession that someone does for a long time
She has had a successful career in medicine.
[noun] – a match or game played between individuals rather than teams
In the singles match, she played against the top-ranked player.
[adjective] – feeling sad or displeased because something did not happen as expected
She was disappointed when she didn’t get the job.
Article reading:
Please read the whole article. Then, I will check your pronunciation and intonation.
記事を音読しましょう。講師はあなたの発音とイントネーションを確認します。
Germany’s men’s table tennis team, led by Timo Boll, had been a top team at the Olympics since table tennis was added in 2008. However, their streak of winning medals came to an end at the Paris Games. On August 6, they lost a close 3-2 match to Sweden, which prevented them from reaching the semifinals. This defeat also marked the end of Timo Boll’s career. Sweden won both the doubles match and a crucial singles game and then faced Japan in the semifinals. Japan had secured their place by defeating Taiwan 3-1. In a dramatic match, Timo Boll, aged 43, showed great effort against Sweden’s Anton Kallberg. Although Boll lost the first two games, he won the fourth game to level the score. However, Kallberg won the final game 11-9. Boll admired Sweden’s performance and felt disappointed. Meanwhile, Japan’s Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka won the doubles match, and Tomokazu Harimoto secured a victory against Taiwan’s Lin Yun-Ju. Germany’s women’s team reached the quarterfinals with a 3-2 win over the U.S.
True or False:
Read the sentences and identify if they are true or false based on the article.
文章を読んで、記事に基づいて正誤を答えましょう。
- Germany’s men’s table tennis team, led by Timo Boll, had been a top team at the Olympics since table tennis was added in 2008.
- Timo Boll’s career continued after the Paris Games.
- Sweden faced Japan in the semifinals after defeating Germany.
- Japan’s Shunsuke Togami and Hiroto Shinozuka won the doubles match against Sweden.
- Kallberg won the final game 11-9 against Timo Boll.
Fill in the blanks:
Choose the correct word from the table, then fill in the blanks.
適切な言葉を選んで空欄を埋めましょう。
| prevented | defeat | career | singles | disappointed |
- He accepted his __________ with grace and promised to try again.
- He won the __________ title at the tennis tournament.
- His quick actions ___________ the fire from spreading.
- He felt __________ after losing the match he had hoped to win.
- Her __________ as a teacher has been both fulfilling and rewarding.